Amnesia
by XRachX
Summary: Tommy is having a hard time dealing with Hayley's revelations but subconciously he's making connections to the past. Are things looking up? [On Hiatus]
1. Like A Hole In The Head

**Disclaimer:** Lets clarify this, okay? If I owned them then I would not be a fan I would be the owner. Therefore I wouldn't be writing fan fiction I would be writing screenplays and scripts, wouldn't I? If I owned them I would be making enough money to get to the damn convention in 2007 instead I'm just a poor girl desperately trying to find the money for an air ticket. So don't bother to sue, if I had the money to give you I would. You want to sue go right ahead but I don't think the judicial system takes too kindly to having it's time wasted.

**Summary:** Messagog has put a fiendish plan, worthy of only the most evil villains, into action. Dr. Thomas Oliver – the Black Dino Thunder Ranger – is reminiscing on life and turning twenty-five (only half way to fifty you know!). How will their two fates collide and will Tommy be able to keep winning battles as he draws older.

**Thanks:** Once again all thanks goes to Rene. She ahs just been so helpful and down right demanding with this story that I just couldn't stop writing it. So if you hate, blame her for inflicting it upon you all, without her pushing me to get this done – yep got the bruises on m back to prove it - it would most likely never have seen the light of day. Also, a general thanks to the writers of Angel for writing an episode similar to plans for later chapters in this; you make great inspiration! Also one last thanks to Hannah and Becks for being the most slash happy people I now in real life, without there constant hyperness for me to write slash I wouldn't have gotten this done, either. Yep those two and Ren just make a posse you are unable to say no to.

**A.N:** Hope you like reading this as much as I like writing it. It's a bit unusual but hopefully you'll like it. Any medical knowledge in this is only from what I've learnt of ER, Casualty or any internet resources I've found so please don't blame me if they are wrong. I'm not a qualified doctor, yet. Also, got to say this, yes this will be slash so if it offends you don't read it 'cause I ain't changing it.

**Amnesia Chapter One: Like A Hole In The Head**

Dr. Thomas Oliver climbed steadily out of his jeep before heading to the cyber café. A signature black t-shirt clung to his toned, upper-body adding great definition to the athletic muscles his frame bore. A dark-denim pair of jeans trailed down his long legs to the floor, giving him a slight grungy edge which was only the tip of the iceberg compared to how he used to dress. It was quite hard for him, as well as everyone who had known him since puberty, to believe that he had actually grown up into the man he now was. A clean-cut teacher with short, spiky hair and a doctorate in palaeontology? Had anyone told him when he was fifteen years old that, that in ten years time that was exactly what, well rather who, he would be, he would have laughed in their face. Thomas "Tommy" Oliver, a doctorate in palaeontology and the most sought after teacher at Reefside High? No chance.

Through the window he managed to spot a trio of his students hanging out at the bar with his close friend, and the café's owner, Hayley. It wasn't that there weren't any of his other students there, much to the contrary; the majority of his classes were here, his eyes just naturally searched for those people as they were the ones he spent a large proportion of his time with. Hayley's cyber café was a favourite hang out for the teens from the local high school and its business had increased greatly when a large proportion of the student body found out that Dr. Thomas Oliver, Dr. O for short, the most favoured and fancied teacher at the school, hung out there too.

Hayley often asked Tommy why he spent so much time in there with her and the kids when he could be out getting drunk or meeting women, or both. Every time he brushed it off with the same old, worn excuses. "I like hanging out with you." "I feel better being near the team in case something happens." "You know I prefer coffee and smoothies to beer and vodka anyway." He never commented on the chasing women part though. He knew that would only start more questions off which he really didn't want to answer. Since his rather… close relationship with Kat he hadn't had a girlfriend, mainly because he didn't want one and Kat and Kim, his first girlfriend, were the only ones who ever knew exactly why. So instead he came up with the same old, tired excuses time and time again. He knew Hayley didn't believe them, she always saw straight through his lies, which is why he usually avoided lying to her in the first place, but his real reasons were something quite personal. Something he would never tell anyone. He always thought that the cyber café reminded him of the Juice Bar back in Angel Grove where he would spend his days after school hanging out his old with his friends back during his high school years. A part of him missed that, missed them, missed the life. The cyber café was his one little, indulgent reminder of the life he left behind in Angel Grove; even if he was continuing a certain part of it here in Reefside.

Tommy often wondered if he would ever be able to shake off Rangering and the ties that held him to it. Not that he wanted to completely, it was a big part of him and his life. If it hadn't been for rangering he wouldn't be the person he was now. Probably in a jail cell somewhere in downtown LA thanks to his, once, short temper and martial arts skills. It just seemed like the others all managed to stay inactive but involved whereas he spent every day putting his life on the line. Not that he minded, the adrenaline rush it gave him was amazing and he felt good to know he was saving the world but he was becoming older and he wasn't sure how much longer he could last. When Rita had picked him as the Evil Green range she obviously didn't have this in mind, that's for certain. He had gone from pure, unadulterated evil, or pure, perfect goodness and he was still saving the world as the latter of the two lifestyles. He had been saving the world since he was roughly fifteen years old and he was starting to doubt how much longer he could last. He may be the great Tommy Oliver, ultimate Ranger and once white knight but even he couldn't save the world forever, could he?

Dismissing the thoughts with a slight shake of the head he began to stride across to the café door. His every pore oozed confidence and masculinity; it wasn't hard to see why he was such a heart-breaker. He could hear the loud murmurs of idle chatter from teenage customers crammed inside. He always wondered how Hayley managed to keep such a thriving business going and help him with all that Ranger technology he didn't understand fully. He always knew he should have spent more time around Billy. Maybe he would understand it all that little bit better if he had spent more time around the genius boy in blue.

Hayley was his new Billy, his female Billy, his closest thing to a replacement for his close teenage friend. Part of Tommy knew that a lot of what he had in Reefside was a replacement for the old friends he had left in Angel Grove. Not in a bad way, as he loved them all equally for whom they were, not who they reminded him of, but the similarities were very apparent, to him at least.

Hayley was just like Billy; super intelligent, a good head for science and computers and always inventive constantly coming up with new ideas and designs. Kira was a mix of both his former female team mates. The feisty side of he was alarmingly similar to Kim, her singing voice was just as good, probably better. However Kira's calmer, peaceful side was extremely like Trini, calm, peaceful, honest Trini who was always there for anyone. He guessed she held aspects of all the other female Rangers he'd worked with too. Kat, Tanya, Aisha… all had made an impact on him and all had character traits held by the newest yellow ranger. That was probably why he chose her, well why the gem chose her; it was what made her perfect ranger material. Ethan was something else all together a mix of Billy and Adam's intelligence with a lot of Adam's compassion and thought. He also shared their penchant for sci-fi, which was a good trait to have when you are fighting monsters that look like they could've walked straight from an audition for the next George Lucas movie. Actually, most of them looked like rejects from the next George Lucas movie. Then there was Conner. Conner the red ranger who took on the character of Tommy's closest, most loved friend. Okay, so he had aspects of Rocky too, but all red rangers had the same aspects as Rocky. Well maybe not the always read smile and quirky sense of humour like Rocky and Conner shared but there was something else about Conner which Tommy had only seen in one other ranger. Jason.

Tommy couldn't think of the words to aptly describe his best friend and Bro. There were plenty, just none which seemed to do the original red any justice. He was strong, bold and stubborn, yet compassion, caring and forgiving. Tommy had tried to kill him for God's sake but he had forgiven him with ease and accepted him as a friend. Okay, there may have been a little rivalry at first but Zordon helped them work through that and they soon became closer than close. They were so similar, yet from such different backgrounds, that if you didn't know that Tommy was originally a grungy L.A street kid and Jason originally a clean-cut captain of the football team you could quite easily think of them as two exceedingly close brothers. What reminded Conner most of Jason was that fiery look in his eyes, the look that conveyed so much confidence and conviction despite the wearer being nervous and apprehensive. That was what Tommy admired most about Jason, the one thing he always made sure he had when he became leader, was the ability to instil confidence in others just with a look despite being terrified and unsure of what the outcome could be.

Pushing open the door Tommy let the slight breeze from outside swirl around the cosy café for a moment before letting the door fall shut behind him. He cast his eyes across the room taking in all of the faces he knew well, some he vaguely remembered and the odd few he'd never seen before. There weren't many people in Reefside he didn't know, it had been the same in Angel Grove, after all when you spend your days saving the occupants from other worldly evil beings you get to know quite a few faces. He had to admit it was easier to recognise them with the terrified facial expression they often wore the first time he met them but he couldn't expect them to walk around like that just for his convenience.

"Hey Dr. O!" Kira greeted warmly, Tommy wasn't even sure how he'd managed to make his way across to the counter, he sure couldn't remember moving, mind he couldn't remember much recently. The teens were reminding him of that at every available opportunity. Sure he had had gotten used to the jokes about his awful memory after years of having Jason, Kim, Bill, Trini, Zack and most of the following Rangers tease him about it but he still couldn't stand it when the latest bunch did it. Maybe it was a teacher thing, he felt they should respect him as their elder and as a figure of authority in their lives – okay maybe if you forgot the fact he spent most days putting them in mortal peril to save the world then the last part would work. Either way, it still agitated him beyond belief, so he was going to make sure not to say anything which might provoke another bout of taunting and teasing. Especially with his birthday looming so near.

Nodding his head slightly in recognition, Tommy turned to Hayley, about to order when she pressed a cup of steaming hot coffee into his hands, "A… oh thanks Hayley."

"No problem," She smiled happily before lowering her tone, "I got the base computer linked up to the laptop I have back behind the counter so it'll send any warnings the system gets straight from the base to me here." _So that's how she does it, _Tommy mused to himself sipping the scalding liquid tentatively after giving her a nod of immense approval. At least it didn't taste like the battery acid he usually made.

"Everything okay Dr. O?" Yep, tactless Conner blundering straight in, again. It was obvious to them all something was up with Tommy but they were hoping to maybe edge it out of him bit by bit and get a little farther than just trying to blatantly force it out of him, who knows though, maybe Conner's rather forward manner would work. Nothing else they had tried did, maybe Conner's rather unorthodox approach would work. It was better than their only other idea which was beating it out of them. None of them had been too keen on that, not for fear of hurting Tommy in the process, more for fear of being hurt themselves. Tommy was one hell of a fighter so beating it out of him was the last, last, LAST possible option for any of them. Well besides phoning up Kim – who Hayley had spoken to on occasion – and getting her to either beat or banter it out of him. She was the one who found it most easy to manipulate Tommy and the trio of kids were hoping to pick up a few tips on her visit, being able to manipulate Tommy might end up in them getting less homework after all.

"Hmm, yeah, just been thinking, that's all."

"Is that safe at your age Dr. O?" Ethan was only teasing but it did annoy Tommy slightly, he was sick off all the jokes being aimed at him about his impending birthday. He was only turning twenty-five, just because he had a terrible memory and was almost half way to fifty didn't mean he needed constant reminders about it.

"About Angel Grove?" Hayley asked softly. It was at times like this Kira couldn't help but wonder why these two people, so perfect for each other, weren't together already. Okay she had a sneaking suspicions they both had feelings for someone else but those would pass, surely. They were meant to be together, in Kira's eyes and least, and it wasn't for want of trying on her part. On numerous occasions she had gotten the guys, who had been easily persuaded to her way of thinking after a few choice karate moves Tommy had taught her, to help her set the two up. Each time had failed and Kira couldn't see why. Maybe they were just too close to ever become physically closer.

Nodding slightly Tommy tried to brush it off wishing Hayley couldn't read his mind the way she did. It always infuriated him that people could do that, even if Hayley and Jason were the only ones.

Jason. Hmm, Tommy had been thinking about his old friend a lot lately. They hadn't kept in very good contact over the past few years and Tommy was very regretful for that. It wasn't easy though, keeping track of his biker friend once he just upped and left. At one time not a day went by when they didn't speak to each other but, after the peace conference, things had changed quite a bit, they had changed quite a bit. Tommy had taken over Jason's signature colour, which was strange enough on its own, and then Jason had returned as the Gold Ranger and almost died in the line of duty. Then there had been the trip to the mood for all Red Rangers; that was a rather unusual reunion for the pair who barely ever spoke and had no clue as to where the other was in the life. They had become so distanced so fast neither of them seemed to realise how, or why, it happened. Still, no matter what happened, they were still best friends and Bros and they always would be; no matter how far apart they were. Their friendship meant too much to both of them to let time and distance get in the way. However, Tommy wasn't afraid to admit it, he missed his best friend. There was a hole in his heart which could only be filled by his best friend and the bond they shared. It was like a part of him was missing along with Jason.

"Well, hey, your birthday is coming up so you never know they may all surprise you with some cards or maybe a phone call, you may even get a few e-mails if they can track you down. I'm sure your computer friend, Billy you called him, would be able to hack into somewhere and find it so you never know, try and stay optimistic and positive at least. I know it's hard but you don't know what the future holds or what surprises lie around the corner." Hayley said brightly, doing her best to cheer up the multi-coloured ranger without revealing her plan. She'd been organising it for weeks and she wasn't going to ruin it all now. Upon finding out that world renowned scientist Billy Cranston, whom she had gone to college with, was actually the original blue ranger and one of Tommy's closest childhood friends she had decided that it was time to use her contacts for his twenty-fifth birthday. After all it was a big one, half way to fifty. Just don't remind Tommy of that.

It had taken a long time and months of meticulous planning but between her and Billy they had managed to pull of something which was going to be spectacular. After finding out that it was indeed Tommy who was the black ranger in Reefside – he and Adam had, had their suspicions from the fighting style they recognised on the news but Hayley was the only way they had, had their suspicions confirmed – Billy had gone into over-drive rounding up the old gang. Adam was easy for Billy to find; since coming back from Aquitar they had stayed in close contact, both working in the same street. Billy worked in a large research and design laboratory in the industrial part of Angel Grove and Adam worked just down the road in Angel Grove General Hospital as a psychologist. They had bumped into each other one day on the lunch breaks and had made sure not to loose contact like the others had. It had upset everyone, unknowingly, how the groups had just split and barely stayed in contact. This made the pair even more determined to not just stay in contact, but to round up the whole old gang… or gangs depending on how you looked at it. Adam had helped him track down Rocky, whom he had stayed close with; they were best friends since kindergarten after all, they weren't going to break contact that easily even if they had wanted to; their ties of friendship ran too deep for that. In a way that pained Billy as he had thought that he and the originals (Himself, Jason, Kim, Trini and Zack) would have stayed in contact just as easily. Ah well, things change, people he supposed. Between the three of them they had managed to track down Kat, Zack and find out that Aisha was overseas.

The others, however, were much harder; no-one had seen or heard from Kim or Jason since Trini's funeral. That had been almost a year ago. None of the rangers had expected it – a car crash of all things killing one of the most loved, original Rangers. Once one of the top fighters - who always held an air of peace and calm about her - Trini had been mown down by a drunk driver who ploughed into the side of her car recklessly as she took her turn to head across the junction on the green light, it shouldn't have happened like that. It seemed unjust and unfair. Trini had survived much worse on regular occasions without, barely, a scratch upon her, yet one man, one stupid drunken man, managed to end the life of the amazing Mellow Yellow. She deserved so much more, but with time the team came to grips with the loss of their close friend but, rather than leaning on each other for the support they craved, they broke apart once more, becoming more distant than they had ever been.

Jason and Kim had pretty much been unheard of since then. Well apart from on the news. Kim seemed to have her fair share of appearances on the small screen, that's what being an Olympic gold medallist gymnast did to you. After the Pan Globals her career had rocketed and now she ran her own training academy, apparently, for younger gymnasts hoping to become world class. That was just in her spare time between training herself for the next Olympics which were to be help in London in the yea 2012. There were others in between than and now which she was also training for, but Kim had always hoped to compete in England, so the 2012 Olympics meant much more to her than the others. Even though they were all prestigious and meant the world to her. It hadn't taken Billy too long to find her, but quite a bit longer than any of the others. It was actually quite by chance they had managed to track her to the academy, had Kat not decided to look into gymnastics for a project for the children she taught they wouldn't have found the webpage with her name and an e-mail address to contact her directly on. Billy should have guessed Kim would make sure all her mail went directly to her, she always told them that if she ever did set up an academy that it wouldn't be full of receptionists and random hangers on. She felt a need to be in the forefront, to know everyone and everything going on, personally. So that was how they had tracked down Kim to invite her along to the birthday bash. Billy, and Hayley, and the others come to think of it, were all rather worried about inviting Kim after everything which had happened between her and Tommy. The break-up letter hadn't be pleasant but the pair did seem to be on speaking terms when they lat met. Although, that may have just been because of the difficult circumstances surrounding the reunion, Trini's death affected them all profusely.

Jason they knew even less about. The former leader and red ranger just seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet since their brief, and somewhat emotional, reunion a year ago. According to Billy's sources he hadn't, as he had contacts on petty much every planet in the galaxy so he had to be somewhere on earth. He wasn't on Aquitar or Triforia or any other planet Billy had been able to check for him on, which was, pretty much, every planet in the galaxy. Had it not been for Billy and Hayley's combined hacking skills he highly doubted they would ever have found him. A search they had done managed to track him down to Chicago but where in Chicago took a lot longer. After much time, and hacking of major corporations – you would think they would have better firewalls than ones which would allow Billy and Hayley access - they had found Jason following his dream with a big firm. He was head architect of a small sector and relatively high up for someone so young, Jason had always shown great promise as an architect. A bit more hacking had traced him as the owner of a local dojo as well, typical Jason. Billy could've hit himself for not checking that out first. From this they had managed to gleam certain information such as an e-mail address, well a valid e-mail address unlike the one Jason had told Billy a long time ago, which was now out of service, a snail-mail address and a telephone number. They went for telephone messaging as Jason couldn't quite be trusted to check his e-mails regularly, in Billy's mind. Hearing what they were planning Jason jumped at the chance and, it had to be said, was the most enthusiastic out of them all; he and Tommy had been Bros after all.

So that was everyone sorted. They could've found more, Tommy had served alongside so many Rangers in his short life time they could've probably filled the entire café five times over with his former team mates. Instead they just chose the earliest lot and the latest lot, they would be crammed enough as it was in the cosy cyber café. Hayley was shutting up for the day to allow them to all surprise Tommy. Everything had been planned right down to the most minute details, well to when the flights were getting into the local airport and when Kira would contact Tommy to hell him something was up down in the café because Hayley had closed up, but to them that was minute. After all, Tommy wouldn't really care what kind of party it was, or where they were, or how long it lasted, all he would care about was the thought his friends had put into it and the close friends who had turned up. Hayley and Billy just hoped everything would go without a hitch, which, for an ex-Ranger and someone closely involved with Rangering, was very wishful thinking.

Slightly worried about her friend's slightly depressed demeanour, Hayley apprehensively placed a tentative hand on his shoulder. Just as she opened her mouth to speak she was interrupted by a beeping from her computer signalling an attack in downtown Reefside. Turning to her group of friend she didn't have to say a word for them to know exactly what she wanted to tell them. Gulping back the rest of his coffee Tommy stood abruptly and left, soon followed by the three Dino Teens.

Sighing to himself as he morphed, Tommy couldn't help but wonder, again, if he was getting too old for all of this.

XXXXX

They had been fighting intensely for an hour now and neither side seemed to be letting up. They all knew Zeltrax was determined to do something, as if the bad guys actually had a half decent plan this time. The Rangers were beginning to ware out with the sheer intensity of their fighting, it was all hand to hand combat – bar a bit of help from a few weapons such as the Bracchiostaff – and, despite seeming to have the upper hand over Zeltrax, the rangers new the battle would not be coming to an end soon. Not unless disaster struck and Zeltrax was able to carry out his fiendish plan, but the rangers were completely unaware of such a thing.

"Dr. O! Watch out!" The yell erupted from Conner's mouth as soon as he saw the danger heading his way. He had just witnessed his friend and mentor be knocked down badly enough to cause him to de-morph and now he was about to witness something even more horrific.

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Tommy heard the words and did his best to move but his body wouldn't allow it. Conner and the others just watched in horror as they saw Zeltrax bring down a heavy blow to the front of Tommy's cranium. His aim was perfect for the plan he had set out to complete. Conner blasphemed, wishing his legs could move faster, he felt like he'd been running for eternity to reach his mentor. He may have the power of super speed but to him it still felt like he had been running for forever. It barely felt as if he were covering any ground in his attempt to shorten the distance between him and his teacher. He started as soon as he yelled but still didn't make it in time, he was willing himself there but he just couldn't get there. When he finally did manage to reach him Zeltrax disappeared through an invisa-portal just before the others caught up. Conner knew that had he stayed a second longer the three Dino Teens would have ripped him limb from limb with their bare hands in an act of vengeance for their mentor. The fighting was getting dirty now and they didn't care any more what they did, all they cared about was making sure Tommy was in one piece.

"We have to get him to Hayley back in the command centre. Now Conner, Kira! Move it, the pair of you!" Ethan demanded his friends to move, both snapping out of their daze quickly as they began to help him lift their mentor before trying to get him to Hayley.

They all knew the blow could have killed Tommy but they also all knew that if it was going to kill him, he would probably have died already, but, due to the pulse Ethan had managed to locate, that appeared not to be the case. There were much easier ways for Zeltrax to have killed Tommy had that been his endeavour and that seemed to scare the Dino Teens more than the limp, unconscious form of their teacher in their arms. Mesagog was planning something and they had no clue how to stop him, not without Tommy. Without Tommy they were leaderless. He taught them everything they knew. He guided them from the beginning. He was their Zordon and they knew it was going to be ridiculously hard without one of, if not the, strongest member of their team. It appeared that the most vital link in the chain ha been broken; only time would tell is that would cause the rest of the chain to fall apart. Right now the teens were more bothered about getting Tommy back to Hayley. Hayley would be his saviour in all of this; she had to be.

She would know what to do; she could fix this, fix him. She had to.

Meanwhile, in the lair beneath Tommy's large house in the middle of the forest Hayley stood clutching the edge of the desk for support, her knuckles white with fear and pressure. She was sure that if she continued to increase her grip the way she currently was she was going to break straight through the metal. This couldn't be happening, not now. Not when things were finally going to go right for her beloved best friend. He was going to reach his twenty-fifth birthday and celebrate in style that he had reached the landmark age in one piece. Now all of that was collapsing down around them. He couldn't die, not now. He was finally going to be reacquainted with all his old friends, he was going to start living his life, maybe fall in love, or at least stop denying his feelings for the one he truly loved. He was going to be happy and healthy. That was what she had envisioned for him. She knew the risks of battle for all of the Rangers but a small part of her couldn't quite believe this was happening to Tommy. Doctor Thomas Oliver, the greatest Ranger ever to have lived. The Ultimate Ranger.

This couldn't be happening, not now of all times; especially not now. She had to help him, she had to save him. She would know what to do somewhere in the complex workings of her crammed full mind. She just had to know what to do.

_What if I don't know what to do, though? What if I can't help him? What if I'm not enough? What if it's too late?_ All these questions swam round Hayley's mind as she waited for the rangers to appear from battle, an unconscious Tommy draped between them. Suddenly it struck her. It was a long shot but if she didn't know what to do there would only be one other person that did. She needed him here as soon as physically possible. She desperately needed his help. Tommy needed his help. In a blind state of panic Hayley forced back the hot tears brimming in her eyes, threatening to spill down her colour drained cheeks. It caused her eyes to burn and sting due to the build up but she was determined not to cry, she had to remain together, she had to keep composure. Not for he sake but for the Rangers sake. They were, after all, only teenagers. How were they supposed to deal with this? She had to be the one in control, the calm, realistic one who remained in charge and didn't let emotions get in the way. Gulping she reached a shaky hand for the phone as she realised who she had to be like. She had to be like Tommy, correction, she had to _be_ Tommy. Taking a few steadying breaths she began to punch in the numbers of the Angel Grove phone number which had become so well known to her it was almost like a second language. With each ring the knot in her stomach grew tighter with a mixture of anticipation and dread. He had to pick up, he had to be there, he had to be in, he had to answer, he just had to. He would know what to do; he could fix this even if she couldn't. She would try her best but if she failed he would be able to succeed, he could do anything. He could help anyone. He could help his high school friend, he could help Tommy.

"Billy…?" Her voice came out more shaky than she intended it to but much strong than she ever thought possible. She could do this, she could help Tommy survive, and Billy would help her within that task.

They would do it together. They would save their friend together. They just _had _to.


	2. An Explosive Night

**Disclaimer:** Don't own them, don't sue. I'm a fan therefore it is fan fiction. If I wasn't a fan it wouldn't be fan fiction so I wouldn't be posting it on a site called would I?

**A.N**: Thank you to everyone for the wonderful reviews. They mean a lot to me and my muses; can't forget the muses. Just so you are aware I disappear off to warmer climates on the 8th so I won't be able to update for 10 days. Apologies for starting this and then disappearing off on vacation. Had I known I was going I would have put off starting this till after I got back but surprises come at awkward moments I guess.

To the anonymous review known just as ahem I have this to say – I can tweak the timeline however I wish and I wanted him to be 25 because it makes for some good quarter of a century jokes. Plus, I am British, I know very little about your schooling system and whilst Ren has been very helpful it still confuses me. Over here he could have (I think) finished his course and taken a fast track teaching course before the age of 25. I am only 15 myself so I don't know entirely how these matters work. So I'm sorry if it annoys you that this story isn't perfectly true to real life but I have news for you. It isn't real. I've had to twist reality to fit my purpose and that is the point in fictional stories. Had I been publishing this for real I would have paid more attention to that but for this one piece of writing I think it is okay for it to be skewed slightly. I'm sorry if that irritates you but if you wish to continue reading I just suggest that you pretend he is tuning 29 or something more appropriate.

**Dedications/Thanks:** To Rene, as always. Thanks so much for everything and I'm thinking of you. Yes, you created a monster, but a monster who likes happy endings at least.

**Amnesia Chapter Two: An Explosive Night**

Placing the receiver back down in the cradle relatively gently, for Hayley, she spared not a moment in hesitation before running to her unconscious friend. Propped between the two males was a limp looking Thomas "Tommy Oliver" whose current appearance greatly resembled that of a scarecrow. Hayley thought that if the situation wasn't so dire and life threatening she may have laughed at the sight. Tommy was not one to ever appear helpless or show that he needed support from anyone yet here he was unable to do anything without the support of two teenage males. He would've hated that one great big juxtaposition. It would only have been made worse if Kira had been helping him get moved too, which, of course, she could have done, but it was awkward for three people to carry him and the lads just naturally took over. Like always.

Now was not a time for jealousy or arguing though. Right now the only thing that was on their minds was helping Dr. O. The mission to save his life was consuming them, slowly taking over; masking them of any sense. Tommy's life hanging in the balance caused more pain and uncertainty for the Rangers that him dying outright and Messagog knew all to well what that meant. It left them a weakened force whose mind was not fully on the task at hand when fighting. It was a cold, calculated and manipulative plan, one worthy only of the most evil of villains.

As the group stumbled and fumbled their way into basement Hayley let her instinct take over and shut of the part off her brain which thought too much and over analyzed her emotions. She didn't need emotion to get in the way now, it would only complicate things if she let them get involved and tangled up in the mess before her. Silently she pulled out a gurney type trolley bed that she and Tommy had built in case of there ever being such an emergency as this, which warranted the use of one. The thought of just pinching one from the local hospital then donating a large sum of money to them had crossed their minds but two flaws came up in their minds, one practical one emotional. The emotional one was they felt bad taking one for their own personal gain considering half the people in the ER who desperately needed gurneys and beds were usually in there because they had been caught up in a monster battle. The practical one came to Hayley before it did Tommy, how the hell do you get a gurney out of a hospital without anyone noticing? Tommy never was the practical type in that sense; listening to Billy reminisce about high school had confirmed that notion steadily in her Hayley's mind.

Conner and Ethan lowered Tommy down onto the bed as gently as they could, trying to move his head as little as possible. The first aid courses Tommy had forced them to participate in had taught them that you should never move someone unconscious, except into the recovery position and even then you keep the head still. However, they had been unable to follow protocol this time and had to do with trying to keep his head as still as possible in the worst imaginable of all circumstances. As the boys backed away slowly rubbing weary eyes with sweaty dirty palms Kira dashed forwards. Meanwhile Hayley disappeared off to pull out a few needed inventions and pieces of equipment. As she did this Kira quickly went to undressing her teacher. She hated that she had to do it but she knew neither of the boys would feel comfortable with it despite it having to be done. Kira had a limited knowledge of the equipment Hayley would be using as she had helped her build them, along with Ethan and a rather unhelpful Conner. The one vital piece of information she retained was that it was an upper body scanner and all pieces of metal had to be removed as well as all upper body clothing. Her hands were trembling as she slowly undid the buttons on his torn and tattered grey shirt. Her hands were the only part of her giving away her true emotions. She kept a straight face and didn't allow herself to breakdown like she desperately wanted to, she had to remain strong for Dr. O's sake; after all she was a Power ranger, Power Rangers don't cry. Not as far as she knew or thought anyway.

Slowly she pulled away the ragged grey clothing out from under his upper body before peeling off the tight black t-shirt he wore underneath. Only then did she allow herself a wince at the bloody sight before her which had once been her teacher's chest. It still was but now it was barely recognisable as human due to all the blood from the gaping wound stretching down the right hand side of his torso. It wasn't too deep, she could tell that much, as there was still a strong pulse to be found in Dr. O's wrist and his skin turned from white to red to white again when pressure was applied and released. She had tested this quickly on his ear lobes when she had checked for breathing at the scene of the battle. Never had she been more thankful for her teacher and mentor pushing her to do something. Gently she tugged the material out from under his torso before searching him for any metal. Swiftly she removed his jeep keys and wallet from his pocked before quickly removing his belt, careful to make sure her hands didn't touch anything they shouldn't have. They may have had a close relationship considering they had started out as teacher and student but they certainly weren't _that_ close! After doing so she finally allowed herself a glimpse of his beaten and bruised face. She had seen sights like this many time before with each of the Rangers, Tommy, Conner, Ethan and ever herself, but with the intensity of the situation the pain she felt was only worsened. Slowly he reached out and removed the thin rimmed glasses which were lying skewed across his face and, deciding that was all the metal she could find on him, retreated back to place the personal belonging in a safe place. She decided it was best to keep them in the top draw of his desk, she had never actually seen inside the draw as she knew that was where he kept any personal belongings that he felt necessary to bring downstairs into the lab. Now was not the time to worry about Dr. O's desire of privacy. She knew deep down he would be more annoyed if any of the belongings he kept on his person were damaged than if she went into his draw… he always seemed very protective over his wallet. They had all noticed, Conner had come up with the conclusion that it contained a rather explicit photograph of a former lover, or a current one – for all they knew Tommy and Hayley could have been having a mad, passionate affair all this time – which he would rather none of the kids saw. Either that or he was just tight and wouldn't allow the kids anywhere near his wallet, even if he had said he would pay for the pizzas.

Looking back at her teachers still form, Kira realised that she would have to remove something else from him that she would rather not take off. It had to be done though, he couldn't go into the scanner with metal on him, no matter how tiny the amount. That meant she had to remove the jeans. After all it wasn't only the button and zip that were made from metal; there were the studs that decorated the pockets too. What were those for anyway? They were completely useless and, frankly, just got in the way – especially at times like this. Taking in a deep breath she braved herself for this. Dr. Oliver would never have to known and if anyone ever told him they wouldn't see the light of day ever again. Kira was not a shy person, she just didn't think she should get that up close and personal with a guy ten years her senior, or any guy for that matter, especially not one who was her teacher! Her resolved firmed and she marched over quickly. The sooner she did it the sooner it would be over and done with. Hastily she undid the button and did her best to avoid the curious glances she was getting from Conner, oh he would have a field day taunting her about this and she would revel in breaking his nose if he ever did. Next she quickly undid the zipper and did her best to keep her hands from grazing anything they shouldn't. Some girls at school would love to be in her position right now but she certainly wasn't happy. Moving at a steady pace she quickly tugged the jeans down and off leaving Tommy lying there in only a pair of tight black boxers. She was certainly seeing more of him than she ever wanted to see. Scrunching the jeans up in a ball she tossed them down in the corner and returned to her post by the stairs.

On the other side of the room Hayley and Ethan set the scanner up and positioned it carefully over the unconscious form of Tommy, sprawled out on the table. The contraption looked like something that came straight out of a science fiction movie – which, considering they had practically been living in one the past six months was quite appropriate. The appeared, however, did not put off Hayley, Ethan or any of the others. Tommy had been the only sceptic but that was only because he didn't know what the others knew. He didn't know who designed it. All he knew was that Hayley had been sent some blue prints from a friend and had been given rights excluding her for paying to make the patented machine. He was completely oblivious to the fact it had been designed by one for the most intelligent people he knew – William "Billy" Cranston. After all, Hayley wouldn't use just anyone's blueprints on the Rangers.

The only sound that could be heard in the basement lair under Dr. Thomas Oliver's house was the gently clacking of typing on a keyboard as Conner kept a vigil over the monitors displaying different areas of Reefside and the location of each of the rangers and the Dino Gems. For some reason Trent Fernadez, the white ranger, was not showing up and his communicator was on the blink. Explains why he didn't come to help in that battle, mused Conner silently to himself still seething with suppressed rage. Angrily he hit a few keys on the keyboard more forcefully than he had meant to and was surprised when it rewarded him with a communications link to Trent and a visible of him on screen. Quickly he sent whispered information and updates to the stunned white range who had not realised he had been out of contact with the rangers all evening whilst the battle raged on. He responded without haste and assured Conner he would get to them as soon as possible without drawing attention to himself. Last thing they needed was Cassie – the school "reporter" (or school gossip as she was better known) – to start following Trent and snooping around for her latest scoop. She was well known for her obsession with Dr. Oliver so she made it a habit of hers to keep tabs on his closest students.

Ethan retreated away from the machine now covering most of his mentor's upper body and went to stand next to Kira near the stairs leading up to the main house. Instinctively he put a protective arm around her shoulders as Conner came across to join them. It was time to find out what damage Zeltrax had caused and how serious it was. A clap of thunder somewhere over head startled the group. The storm was giving them an uneasy feeling about this. There was an eerie atmosphere hanging in the air almost alla Jekyll and Hide. Slowly Hayley began the scans, almost hesitantly despite knowing fine well they had to be done. Without a word she set about reading the scans as soon as they came through. She did her best to ignore the three sets of eyes boring into her back, burning a metaphorical hole in her jumper. Nothing to out of the ordinary came up on the scans, well nothing that couldn't be explained away by the powers and some heavy duty concussion. That was the main reason Billy invented this machine for Hayley and all the other Ranger teams; the powers created abnormalities on brain scans so where possible they kept Rangers from the hospital and tried to treat them at base. Billy's invention had helped greatly with this and also meant a lot less explaining was needed where doctors were concerned.

Hayley's eyes widened suddenly and her body tensed. The whole room changed in atmosphere, the three teens stood expecting devastating news from the fiery red-head when she turned around.

However she never managed to turn around. Something knocked her off her feet, sending her sprawling across the floor before she could turn and inform the rangers of the latest developments.

Another clap of thunder echoed around the room. It must have followed a fork of lighting as suddenly there was a loud crackling. All the computers blanked out and the room was cast into sheer darkness. Just as their eyes were adjusting to the light, or lack thereof a bright white light was emitted from the scanner as it sparked and crackled before bursting into bright orange flames which licked up around the metal framework slowly making their way to the body inside. The flames danced like snakes, unfurling up to the ceiling, reaching out and licking the air as if trying to taste the disaster they were causing. As the contents began to explode a side panel was thrown off and hit Hayley hard in the back causing her to be flung across the room like a rag doll. On instinct the three teens dived forwards. Ethan made his way quickly to an injured Hayley whilst Conner and Kira each grabbed out into the darkness for Tommy's unconscious form. As their hands eventually found something they could only assume were his legs they pulled sharply, dragging the body out from the metal work which was slowly being engulfed in flames. Stumbling and fumbling in the dark in seemed like a life time had passed before Ethan found the fire extinguisher Tommy had insisted they keep down here for safety reasons. None of them had ever been more grateful for what they had first believed was just Tommy's pessimistic nature; now they saw the vitality of such minor details.

Once the flames were doused the group stood panting, their breathing heavy due to the adrenaline coursing through their systems. Hayley was the first to speak.

"I'm guessing there was a power surge. I don't know what it will have done to Tommy since he was in the scanner at the time of the surge. It may have caused him more damage to the brain, plus there may be some facial lacerations and burns from the flames. I need some light to see how bad the extent of the damage as is."

"You say more damage Hayley, which means there must already have been damage to begin with. What happened to him Hayley, what did Zeltrax do to him?" Kira's voice was cautious but demanding. Hayley knew she couldn't brush it off, especially not since the young girl had so carefully analysed her use of English.

"There were some abnormalities with the memory side of his brain. A few bruised areas and slightly swollen areas showed up, which, according to some very left-wing research I read about, could indicate the rare condition of amnesia. At the moment it is impossible to tell how bad it is going to be, how long it will last and whether or not it is selective or not. Right now, though, that is the least of our worries. Conner can you go find the circuit breaker and go get us some power and lighting. I think the backup generator blew along with the rest of the mains electrics."

Nodding slightly, not knowing what to say on the matter, Conner began to make his way up the stairs into the main house.

"Wait!" Ethan called, bringing the young soccer star to halt, "Do you hear that?"

The others strained hard to hear what Ethan had commented on. Sure enough the sound of someone fumbling around in the dark somewhere above their heads could be heard.

"Oh great, Dr. O's unconscious, we have no power and now someone has decided to beak into the house! Can this night get any worse?" Conner's voice was laced with so much rage that it just seemed to drip with frustration, "That guy better watch out because the way I'm feeling right now I think I may break a few bones."

Storming off upstairs as quietly as he could manage in his current fame of mind, Conner looked ready to explode if anyone crossed his path.

Hayley looked to Kira and shook her head in dismay before going and doing her best to check on Tommy in the confines of the pitch black lair. Part of her felt sorry for the intruder upstairs – being on the end of Conner's wrath when he was like this could only be beaten by being on the end of Tommy's wrath in one of those moods; well as far as she was concerned that was.

Kira looked up to the ceiling wishing that her power had been x-ray vision rather than the Petra Scream now. All was pretty much silent until some muffled sounds floated down to the basement indicating Conner had found the intruder and was indeed dealing with it him or her in a rather vicious manner. Muffled yells vibrated through the ceiling as Ethan and Kira began to edge closer to the stairwell. What if it wasn't a simple intruder, what if Messagog had sent Zeltrax or Elsa to destroy the remaining Rangers now they were a ranger down? A loud crack echoed round the room as the lights flickered back to life causing a groan from the room's occupants whose eyes had just about adjusted to the darkness and were now being plunged back into the harsh bright light. All eyes six travelled to gaze upon the unconscious Dr. Olivier lying on the floor. As they rested their gaze upon him a collective gasp and intake of breath filled the room as Ethan, Hayley and Kira did a double take.

Their attention was quickly pulled from the unconscious man on the floor to the two men tussling on their way down the stairs into the lair.

"Get your hands off of me!" Conner looked slightly pained as the man he had a relatively firm grip on fought back against him. It appeared as if he didn't willingly participate in his "capture" as Conner was now sporting a rather bloody nose, "I told you this is a damn emergency why the hell can't you believe me?" Under his breath the mysterious male added, "I'm sure Jase wasn't as arrogant and cocky when he was Red ranger, Tommy neither."

"Look, I caught you snooping around, after presumably breaking into, someone else's property so I have a right to shoot you right now if I wanted to but instead I'm doing as you asked and taking you to Hayley. She can decide what to do because, quite frankly, I don't give a damn."

"You have no rights Conner McKnight because I think you'll find this isn't your property, it belongs to a one Dr. Thomas Oliver so if you would so kindly as to get your damn hands off of me…"

The voice trailed off as Conner dropped the man's arms out of shock due to what he had just said. How the hell did he know his name? How did he know this was Tommy's house? Who was this guy?

Hayley, on the other hand, knew exactly who it was. She recognised the voice immediately but was too shocked to react. She didn't want to know how he had gotten here so quickly, well not just yet, it did intrigue her but there were more important things to think about right now. For a moment she just stood stunned at one end of the basement lair looking at the sandy haired man before.

Gathering his bearings he straightened his glasses which were now lying slightly skewed on the bridge of his nose and ran a shaky hand through his messy mop of hair. His crystal blues eyes scanned the room quickly taking in as many details as he could muster in his flustered state. That was certainly not the welcome he had been expecting. Okay, he hadn't been expecting banners, bunting and trumpets playing either but getting man handled by the latest Red Ranger certainly didn't cut it either. A handshake would have done. He was going to have to make sure Hayley got these kids to watch the old ranger tapes back again, Tommy would be appalled if he knew this is how the originals were getting treated by the rookies on his latest team. Slowly he brushed himself off to let Hayley get used to the shock. She had undoubtedly not expected him to arrive so soon, he hadn't even expected to arrive so soon. He was sure his new teleportation system would have at least a few bugs in it the first time he tried. He had actually braced himself for landing up on The Great Barrier Reef rather than Reefside, but apparently he had managed to get it working perfectly first time.

Finally overcoming her shock Hayley ran forwards to the man she hadn't seen in years and latched her arms tightly around his neck as he lifted her from the ground and swung her in a round before placing her gently back on the ground again. Yeah, you could say they had, had a close relationship when they knew each other to begin with.

"Billy. You don't know how glad I am to see you. Your timing couldn't be better. I never thought things could get this bad so fast. I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow at the earliest, not after that phone call anyway. Full of surprises you are Billy Cranston. I'll introduce you to the kids quickly then I really need you help."

Hayley finally stopped and took a breath allowing room for Ethan to jump right in, "Did you say Billy Cranston? As in_ the _William 'Billy' Cranston; world renowned inventor and computer expert who designed that scanner which just blew up a few moments ago?"

"It blew up!" Billy asked incredulously.

"Power surge," Hayley informed him with a shrug, "The storm must have caused a build up in power when the lights went out resulting in a surge through the machine which would have been using the back up generator to keep the scans going until they were completed."

The three Dino Teens stood back, awed by who was stood in front of them. Conner looked desperate to apologise profusely but seemed unable to find the words so just stood there with his mouth opening and closing every now and then like a gold fish. This was _the _Billy Cranston, original Blue Ranger, and he had mad handled him all the way down the stairs after pouncing on him in the dark. There wasn't time to dwell on that now though. Billy was obviously here for a purpose and that purpose seemed to be to help them help Tommy. Quickly Conner moved forward to help the boy, no, correction, _man _in blue to move the unconscious Tommy back onto the gurney which was slightly mangled at one end where it had started to melt, but other than that is was perfectly useful. Only now did Conner realise that something was up, there was something wrong about the man before him. Surely it couldn't be. Dr. Oliver wasn't morphed when he went into the scanner, was he?

"Hayley he didn't go into the scanner morphed did he? I didn't design this to be able to read though your helmets." Billy asked quite concerned as to why his friend was fully morphed in his black ranger uniform. Part of Billy couldn't quite get over the concept of Tommy in black. Black was Zack's colour, not his. Just like red was Jason's. He had never been able to fully adjust to Tommy taking over their old friends' colours. To him Tommy was the White Ranger, the White Knight, or the Evil Green ranger (that part of Tommy had died long ago but it was still one of his colours) – Tommy wasn't red or black. Those colours weren't him.

Shaking her head Hayley replied, "No, he didn't. That's why I am so glad you are here. His morpher was left on him when he went in the scanner and that is partly metal. I think then the power surged through the machine the electrons jumped the gap to his morpher and travelled through his body, reacting with the powers to cause him to morph involuntarily."

"Okay, well were the scans completed before the explosion," Billy scratched quotation marks into the air when he said the word explosion, just to make sure he got his point across.

Nodding, Hayley handed him the print outs which she had collected from the floor a few seconds earlier in anticipation for Billy wanting to read through them. He would undoubtedly draw the same conclusion as she had done. That Tommy was most like suffering from a form of amnesia and that other than that he seemed to be perfectly fine except for the one hell of a headache he would be feeling over the next few days from the almost definite concussion he had inherited from the blow.

"Okay," Billy slowly let out a shaky breath he hadn't even realised he had been holding, "This doesn't look promising. I take it you've already interpreted these so I won't bother to reiterate your findings back to you. Good news is though no physical or mental damage other than the amnesia. Bad news, the amnesia can't be cured by any form of medicine and the increased healing powers of the Dino Gems isn't going to be able to help him recover either. This is something that we as ordinary, mortal humans are going to have to combat in as many ways as possible. Also, from what I remember of the suit designs you sent me, there is no way to get Tommy to power down without him commanding the suit to do so. That means someone is going to have to get Tommy to say the words which means we are going to have to either keep him away from any form of reflective surface until he says them or we have to tell him he is a Ranger."

"We have to tell him," Kira commented, "It's not just stopping him looking into a mirror that's the problem, it's topping him looking down at his hands or legs, or stopping him from trying to run a hand through his hair. If we don't tell him he is a Ranger then how are we going to explain the suit?"

"Smart kid," Billy commented looking over at Kira who smiled slightly and allowed a blush to creep up her cheeks. No-one had ever really complimented her on her intelligence before, only her singing voice.

"So who wants to be the one to tell him then?" asked Ethan backing u slowly as all eyes turned to Hayley and Billy. They could fight it out between themselves but, rest assured, it was not going to be one of the Dino Teens who took on this battle.

Billy and Hayley looked apprehensively towards one and other. Billy naturally wanted to do the dashing male hero thing and say he would do it but the rational part of his mind, the part which hadn't been corrupted by Jason and Tommy's actions as teenagers, told him that he might not necessarily be the best person to do so, particularly if Tommy didn't remember him.

"It'll either be me or Hayley but we should wait until he rouses to see who he remembers best and who he trusts more. The Tommy which wakes up isn't necessarily going to be the Tommy you all remember. He could have reverted back to his teenage self from the time I knew him or he could've have gone even further back and reverted back to being a child. Yet again he could have forgotten all his childhood and only remember his life in Reefside. Thee are so many possibilities it is impossible to decided upon a course of action so early in the development. I think right now we should postpone any plans and get to sorting out things around here. It looks as if something exploded in here."

The twinkle in Billy's eye caused Hayley to laugh slightly. She was glad he was here to help her deal with all of this; she didn't think she could handle it alone. Also, she knew what he was doing for was for the best; he was bringing humour into a dire situation which always made things appear better. After all laughter is the greatest remedy. She remembered how fondly Tommy had talked of his teenage friend Zack who always had a witty one liner ready to cheer them all up when the going got tough. She could only assume that Billy was modelling the way he was acting now upon all his old friends to strike the right support balance for the new group. From what she had heard they all had very different personalities and characteristic that, when brought together as one, made them invincible. She was glad of that; just knowing that one of the originals was here made her feel much more confident in her endeavour.

"Good idea; lets get this place cleaned up so we can sit down and relax once it's done. First I think you guys have to ring your parents and tell them that you'll be staying at each other's houses. Assuming you want to spend the night here with Tommy, that is?" Hayley knew she didn't have to ask but felt obliged to.

"Of course we are staying. Wild horses wouldn't drag us away," Kira assured her.

"Okay then, well, we'll stat to tidy up whilst you guys ring round. You know where the phone is by now. Once you are done you can help us finish up then I'll introduce you properly to out new friend.

A little over half an hour later – thirty-three minutes and forty-five seconds to be exact, Hayley had been clock watching to see how long Tommy stayed down for – the group finished their tidy and were acquaint themselves with their new acquaintance. As the others crashed out on the tattered old couches which took up one area of the lair Ethan strode downstairs carrying a load of refreshments for the group. They would need a lot of sugar and caffeine to last the night so he brought down some strong black coffee for the adults, some sodas for the kids and a box of doughnuts he had seen stood by Dr. O's sink – he couldn't but wonder how the guy could eat so much yet not put on any weight at all. Mind you he did work out twice as hard as the rest of them.

"So you really are _the _Billy Cranston then?" Ethan asked taking a seat opposite one of his numerous idols in the technological field.

"Yes, Ethan, I am that Billy Cranston but not really _the _Billy Cranston, after all I was named after my grandfather," Billy couldn't help but let a small smile play on his lips. Yeah he had made it big in the world, but he would never have come so far without being part of the Rangers and gaining so much knowledge from Zordon and Alpha 5, "So please, no more of the, the, okay? I'm just plain old Billy."

"Yeah, but, still, all multi-million inventions aside you are still the original Blue Ranger," Conner commented still slightly stunned. It had been one thing to find out their teacher was not only one of the original Power rangers but the all time greatest Power ranger, but to meet one of the original originals, who had been doing this since before even Tommy had, was just incredible.

Billy laughed slightly; he hadn't expected this kind of impact upon his arrival. He was the tech Ranger, the smart one who sucked at the fighting. If this was the kind of reaction he stirred up what kind of response would Jason or Kim initiate.

"Yeah, come on tell us what it was like to be one of the original Power Rangers. We've seen the videos but Tommy didn't like to talk about his past experiences much so we haven't really heard it all first hand. Plus, I'm quite intrigued as to how you know Hayley," Kira commented, not failing to notice the slightly flushed look Hayley got as she realised the insinuation that laced her comments.

"Fine, fine," Billy relented holding up his hands to stop the onslaught of pleas he could guess were about to come, "I'll tell you some stories from back in mine and Tommy's original Ranger days and I'll tell you the story of how I met Hayley at University, okay?"

The group settled down ready to listen to his stories. Hayley included. She had heard Tommy talk of his past life many times before but never Billy and Billy's outlook on things always fascinated Hayley. So she snuggled down into the sofa next to Billy, a warm coffee cup nestled in her hands, making sure she was perfectly comfortable so she could sit and listen to him for hours if time allowed.

A few hours later, Hayley had lost track of time but knew it was now after midnight, Billy cut one of his stories to an abrupt halt as a soft groaning could be heard from somewhere behind him. Instinctively he stood and rushed to his friend's side in three fluid, easy strides.

"Tommy? Tommy, can you hear me?" His voice was soft and gently, not wanting to startle the slowly awakening ranger.

"What… what's going on?"


	3. Connections

Disclaimer: Don't own them, don't sue. Got no money to pay if you did so don't wast my time, your time and a judges time trying, k?

A.N: Sorry for the long delay between chapters. I've been on holiday in Mallorca for the past 10 days with no internet or computer access. All reviews appreciated, I know this isn't perfect so help is always sought after.

Reviews: This is just a little note to each of my reviewers.

Ahem: Thankyou for your comments about research. Unfortunately I do not have as much time as I would like to complete research and I am doing my best in the short time I have available. As you may notice I have edited this AN as I looked back and realised I totaly went overboard and blew my top. I apologise for that as I took my feelings out on you which were caused by an entirely different inccident. I hope you continure to read this story - if you are actually enjoying it that is - and I would prefer it if you voiced your opinions in a polite way. No-one likes flames but if you do continue to voice your opinions in such a way I will deal with them as best I can. I think we should, and by that I mean everyone involved in this, leave it where it is before it escalates even further than it already has. You are entitled to you opinion and everyone else theirs.

Lil Sweetie: Thankyou so much for your reviews. It's nice to know I have some people out their willing to stick up for me and who enjoy my work. It is vey much appreciated. Ahem had no right to say what they did to you so please just ignore it. As Ren pointed out, you are actually correct.

Ren: Hun, I cannot find the words to thankyou enough for sticking up for me. You have helped so much with the writing of this, and my other PR stories, that I know what I write would be much worse if it wasn't for your help. You've been a great source of knowledge to me and have answered all my questions to the best of you ability and you have saved me much precious time in researching. Thankyou for the confidence boost and all the valid points you made. Plus, thanks once again for opening my eyes to my now favourite PR couple.

TrueRomantic: Sorry hun, I'm sure I made this clear in teh begining but I ship Tommy/Jase and this is Tommy/Jase. If you want Kim/Tommy you'll have to check out my up and coming story called Acceptance which has Kim/Tommy as a sideline pairing. I hope you'll continue o read however as Kim does crop up in this, as does Kat an some other former rangers.

WesEric: I'm glad you like the story and here is the next chapter.

WhiteDino: It's been a while since you reviewed but I just wanted to say I'm glad you like the story and as for Dr. O getting better, you'll have to read on and see.

jedi4jesus19: I'm glad oyu like the story and that you find the explanations up to scratch. I hope you continue reading and enjoy the next chapter.

**Amnesia Part Three: Connections**

"Get the hell away from me! Who are you? Hayley? What the bloody hell is going on? Where on earth am I?" Tommy's voice was laced with a nervous edge of fear which none of them had ever seen before. Tommy never got afraid. Nothing scared him whatsoever. That was what made him such a good leader, he didn't fear things he just embraced them head on. If he had to jump into a swirling vortex of time, he would. If he had to dive in front of a truck to save some kids, he would. Nothing fazed him. Nothing ruffled his feathers or made him the slightest bit afraid, until now – as far as they knew. This Tommy who had roused a few minutes previously was certainly not the Dr. Thomas "Tommy" Oliver they all knew and loved. This was the real Tommy, the hidden Tommy, the Tommy, Tommy kept away from all the others in order to help keep up this façade of the invincible, unbreakable leader. This was Thomas Oliver – the human.

"Tommy clam down okay," Hayley soothed as best she could trying to keep the fear in her heart from stumbling out into her words, "You took a nasty blow to the head and you've been unconscious for a while. You're in the lair; the lair down in your basement."

Had Tommy not known and loved Hayley like a sister he would have knocked her out for using such a patronising tone and speaking so slowly. He was not an imbecile he was just god damn confused. That and the fact he was relying on her to explain the present situation were the only things preventing him from taking his desired course of action. Like; why was he dressed only in his boxers in front of three of the students from his science class and a random, nervous looking man with sandy blonde hair who kept fiddling with dials?

"Hayley, please explain to me precisely what the hell is going on. This is _not _my basement for starters so where on earth are we. Secondly, why are Kira, Ethan and Conner from my science class here? Then why don't you introduce me to your friend in blue with the nervous twitch over there." Grumbling slightly Tommy flung out at arm to indicate to Billy who was about to mutter a reply of "I don't have a twitch" but decided against it.

Watching carefully from the side of the bed as Tommy wrapped the blankets tightly around his morphed form Hayley couldn't decided between laughing or crying. Crying because she was just about ready to break down with the stress of this or laughing because the site of Tommy fully morphed in blankets was just hilarious. Yep she could just see all the kids who idolised the Black Ranger really taking to this new form of bravery. Hey kids, best way to fight evil dinosaur style creatures is to wrap yourself up in blankets and curl yourself up into a ball because you secretly think you are going crazy. Yep, that'll definitely catch on. Latest Ranger craze here we come.

Somewhere behind her Hayley could hear a slight snicker coming from one of the rangers. Curiosity soon got the better of her and she turned just in time to see Kira smack Conner upside the head. He gave Kira a dirty looked as she gave Hayley an apologetic smile before witnessing her turning back round with a weary shake of the head.

Breathing in deeply Hayley braced herself for an onslaught of derogatory comments from Tommy. He never was the most cooperative of people, this was only intensified if he didn't understand what was going on and she knew he hated participating in useless and pointless events. The characteristics of Tommy's personality she had once found endearing and had caused her to bond with him so well were now coming back to bite her in the ass. Bite her very hard for that matter.

"Okay, let's try this a little differently. Tommy can you tell me today's date?"

"I'm not an idiot Hayley," noticing the slightly pissed off look forming on both Hayley and Kira's faces Tommy relented, from somewhere in his past experiences he knew it was better to go along with such things rather than fight women such as that but for the life of him he couldn't remember where, or who from, he had first learnt that, "Fine, fine, today's date is the twenty-fourth of April and it's a Friday. Happy now, Hayley?"

"Not quite."

Tommy bit his tongue to stop him muttering something about women and never being satisfied. He was too cranky right now to be on the end of Hayley ranting. Besides Kira would only join in and from the way she acted in class, that wasn't a good thing.

""Just give me a quick, and I mean quick – just something short and brief is all I'm asking for – account of your life up until this point," Tommy looked at her incredulously as if she had just grown an extra head or possibly a tail or some other form of abnormality,"No need to be worried Tommy, you are among friends and it's just standard procedure after sustaining a head wound as serious as yours."

_Hmm, my head does hurt a little, _Tommy mused silently to himself before shifting uncomfortably on the small gurney. _Okay that was an understatement, it hurts a lot. Who decided to allow the brass band to play inside my head because who ever did is so getting their ass kicked. This really isn't funny. Maybe if I act sweet and innocent – yeah like I could ever pull that off – Hayley might get me some clothes and a huge dose of Tylenol or something._

"Fine I was born on May the fourth in 1980 and was put up for adoption. At some point I was adopted by Dr. Martha Oliver and Jake Oliver. I grew up in Los Angeles and despite having a great family and parents I went off the rails a bit. Got in with a bad crowd, you know the same old story and LA street kid will tell you. So we moved to Angel Grove where I finished up high school before going to college in Seattle to study palaeontology. I got my degree and came to teach at Reefside High. Those details satisfy you desire to know every little detail for my life?"

"Almost," She could tell he was getting frustrated with this by the way he kept pulling the blanket tighter round him self as if for security or protection, "Can you tell me a bit more about when you were living in Angel Grove. Maybe something like who your friends were or what you did in your spare time? Please Tommy; just humour me a little bit longer, okay?"

"Hmm, okay then. Right in my spare time I guess I practised karate. When I was a teenager it practically ruled my life."

"What about your friends?" Billy piped up daring to move closer to the bed once again, "Do you remember much about them." _Do you remember much about me or the others_, he added silently to himself.

Tommy appeared to be racking his brains for a few moments before looking from each of the people in the room with a truly terrified look filling his soulful brown eyes. "N…no," He stuttered, "That isn't normal, is it? I had friends, I know I did. I'm sure I did. Why can't I remember them? Why can't I remember who they are? What the hell is wrong with me Hayley? Why am I in this weird place? What can't I remember?"

Tommy's voice rose steadily as he got more anxious. His panic stricken eyes darted around the room terrified of what they were seeing. His knuckles were turning white with the pressure of clutching the blankets so tightly to his chest but he was the only one who could see that. He was the only one who could see his semi-naked body. He was the only one who could see the deep cuts that scarred his body and the dark purple bruising beginning to form and create patterns over his skin. Tentatively he place a hand no his torso and ran a cautious finger down the large slash mark on his torso. He could see it, he could see his hand touching it but he couldn't feel it. What the hell was happening to him? Why was no-one helping him? Here he was, sat in a strange room he had never seen before with a strange man he had never met before not remembering things he was sure he should have been able to remember whilst looking as if someone had decided to use him as a piñata or a pin cushion and no-one was doing anything except asking him stupid questions and looking at him weirdly.

Suddenly his eyesight became fuzzy and he couldn't quite make Hayley out as well as he should have. Of course that wasn't helped by whoever was spinning him around. Or was that the room just spinning around him? He couldn't be sure which, either way he was soon becoming light headed and extremely over heated. Given a minute or two more he felt ready to collapse into an exhausted heap on the bed. Something pulled him out of his silent reverie as he felt a gentle tugging on the blankets he held firmly in his grip. Looking up he squinted and focused as hard as he could until he could make Kira out relatively clearly. She was smiling reassuringly at him and whispering soothing words but he wasn't exactly sure what she was saying because the damn ringing in his ears was masking her voice.

"Come on Dr. O; let me have the blankets now. You are getting a bit too hot and it's not making you feel well so I'm going to take them for a little bit, just until you cool down, then you can have them back again. Okay?" Nodding reluctantly Tommy released his grip on them slowly and allowed her to ease them out from around his body. He wasn't quite sure how he could over-heat in just his boxers but he sure felt hot. Right now he couldn't give a damn about modesty as the waves of nausea which kept flooding over him seemed to take more of his focus than his pride and dignity. As Kira turned away from him he strained to hear what she was whispering to the group.

"Couldn't we at least unbuckle his helmet? He doesn't seem to be able to see the suit so it's not likely he's going to get himself out of it anytime soon." He voice was hushed and full of raw emotion. Could he detect a hint of worry in her tone?

"Kira I would have already done that if it was possibly but Hayley put a special lock on the suits when she first designed them which means only the wearer can remove any item of it. It was supposed to stop Messagog or one of his minions like Elsa or Zeltrax getting in. Not to mention to help us keep our identities secret by stop the public from unmasking if we collapse during a battle. Shame we never thought about it keeping us out at the time," Ethan informed her as Hayley just ran a weary hand through her hair. Yep, she wasn't so pleased with he bright idea any more. Damn it; this day couldn't get any worse.

"What's going on guys?" Trent hollered down to them as he jogged down the steps into the basement lair." _I spoke too soon_,Hayley thought dryly to herself._ This just gets better and better._

"Trent?" Tommy's head snapped up inquisitively as he recognised the voice and the young boy it was being emitted from. Part of him wanted to yell at him for the shouting but he knew it would only make his head throb even more so. "Tent, what are you doing here?"

"Dr. O are you okay? How is he Hayley?" Trent asked answering the question with a question, easily side stepping the original – slightly confusing – question.

Hayley silenced Trent with a glare and beckoned him over. "Look Ethan, Kira and Conner will explain because I don't have time to right now. Things aren't good, Trent, they couldn't be any further from it to be honest," Hayley seethed under her breath but sweetened her tone towards the end realising it wasn't fair of her to take out her frustrations on the poor, naïve younger Rangers.

Slowly she walked away from the group and started to head towards Billy who was rummaging though the metallic case he had brought with him. She really needed his advice on this. He would know what to do. He could fix this even if she couldn't. She was just about to tap him gently on the shoulder when Tommy decided to make his voice heard once again.

"Somebody better tell me what the hell is going on here, right now!" His yells echoed round the draughty basement lair and painfully he reached out and grabbed the blankets Kira had taken from him and wrapped himself up in them tightly once more.

Sighing, Hayley changed her path and walked cautiously across to him. She couldn't keep it from him any longer she had to tell him and she had to tell him now. The longer she waited the more violent he was becoming and when he got mad, Tommy really got mad. She kept reminding herself over and over again in her head that he was still the Tommy she knew and loved – somewhere in there – he just got a little lost along the way for a while and was extremely scared and confused. Gratefully accepting the computer chair Conner wheeled across for he she slumped down into it and pulled herself up close by Tommy's bed before taking his gloved hand in hers.

"Okay, Tommy, I've got a lot to tell you and a lot to explain to you but before I do I need you to promise me something. I need you to promise that you won't get mad or angry or violent and that you will try and stay calm and rational and listen to everything I have to say. Can you promise me that?"

"I… I can't promise that Hayley but I can try. I really will try," Tommy assured her as best he could. Part of him new that nothing good could come of what she had to say but he was too intrigued now, he just had to know what was going on.

"Okay, that will do," Slowly she released a long, shaky breath she hadn't even realised she was holding, "Tommy we think the reason you can't remember your friends and the things which happened in Angel Grove is because you have amnesia from a very nasty blow to the head…"

She was soon cut off by an impatient disbelieving Tommy, "Amnesia! No way! I can't have! I can still tell you what kind of birthday party I had when I was seven and what your favourite colour is Hales. If I had amnesia I wouldn't be able to remember anything at all, I wouldn't even know who I was. Besides how did I get a blow to a head? Is it how I got all these cuts and bruises? What is going on Hayley? Where the hell am I and what on earth is going on?"

"Tommy you have to believe me here, okay? You got hurt battling a monster called Zeltrax who works for the dinosaur lizard type monster which keeps attacking the city trying to get this gem," She pointed down to the morpher on his wrist which she had not get removed from him in the hopes of him being able to demorph, "You are a Power ranger Tommy. You have been since you were a teenager. First you were the Green Ranger in Angel Grove then you became the White Ranger then the Red Ranger before finally becoming the Black Dino Ranger here in Reefside. The kids are all on your team and that boy in blue is Billy; he was one of the first ever Power Rangers and you fought beside him saving the world from Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd. He's one of the people you think you should remember from you time in Angel grove but can't. He's one of your closest friends."

"You are insane Hayley, absolutely insane!" He yelled wrenching his hand from her grasp and moving as far away from her as he could on the narrow bed, "I'm not a Power ranger. I can't be. The Power rangers aren't even real. They are just some gimmick made up by huge corporate businesses to make good advertising for a load of tacky merchandise which rips kids off for all they've got. I can't be a Power Ranger, Hayley, because they don't exist! I always knew you were a bit kooky but I never imagined you to be full blown crazy. I'm no a freak Hayley, I can't be a Power Ranger."

"Yes you are Dr. O." assured Kira edging her way steadily closer still slightly apprehensive about the situation, "How else can you not feel it when you touch your skin? What other explanation is there for the fact you got over-heated when you clearly think all you are wearing is your boxer shorts? How else can you explain the fact that, if you tried, you couldn't eat anything or go to the bathroom? You are a Power Ranger, Dr. O, and there is no two ways about it."

"No I'm not!" Tommy yelled looking wildly from each person in the room to another with only the briefest of pauses. They all looked about as terrified as he felt, each one scared as to what he might do or how he might react. The only one not afraid of what he might do was Tommy, instead he was afraid of who he was supposed to be not he could possibly do. After all, the present is always more frightening than the future. Finally he looked up pleadingly at Billy, "Come on, tell them I'm not some kind of freak. You are supposed to have been my friend in high school; you should know I'm not some freak. I don't go running around in spandex pretending to save the world, I'm not crazy. I'm normal. Tell them that. Please! Please, tell them I'm not what they think I am! Tell them I'm normal."

Had they been able to see though the blacked-out visor of Tommy's helmet the group would have seen the tears stinging his eyes and rolling down his badly cut cheeks as he worked himself up and wound himself tighter and tighter. For the first time in their lives they would have seen Tommy Oliver look truly petrified, for at that moment in time he was confused and scared and deeply insecure.

"You just want me to think I'm some freak so you can call me crazy and throw me in the Looney bin with all the other crazies. You just want to laugh at me tell me I'm insane. You are just messing with my mind, trying to make me think I'm going insane but I won't let you. I won't let you screw my mind up. I won't let you, damn it! I'm not some crazy freak, I'm not! You are the crazy ones, you are, not me! I'm not a Power ranger and I'm not insane. I'm not!"

"Tommy just calm down okay, I really hoped it didn't have to come to this but I think you need to calm down and take a little nap okay so I'm going to give you something to make you feel sleepy, okay?" Billy did his best to soothe the terrified young man before him. He hated himself for having to do it but they could have Tommy awake and in this state. He could do some serious damage to them or himself.

Slowly he edged his way to the, now visibly shaking, young man who had been one of his closest friends for years. It was tearing him apart to see him like this but he had to do it. There was no other way to protect Tommy from himself. Billy caught the wide-eyed looks of the young rangers as they eyed the sterilized needle in his right hand but he knew that they understood why he had to do this. They saw the visible extent of his injuries and knew how badly Tommy needed to remain calm and still if they were ever going to heal without infection. The rookie Rangers didn't seem to be the only ones who had eyed the needle in his hand as Tommy sprung lightly off the bed and gracefully landed in a fighting stance with extreme ease for someone with such horrific injuries.

"Don't you dare come any where near me with that thing!" He lashed out and sent a kick to Billy's wrist causing the needle to drop from his hand and skid to a halt at Trent's feet a few meters away, "Come anywhere near me with that again and it wont be the needle I'm aiming for…argh."

He cried out in pain and grasped at the wall before sliding his back down it as a wave of pure pain washed through his body. He was aching and stinging all over, he could never remember feeling quite as much pain ever before in his life. Then again, he couldn't seem to remember much of his life –apparently.

Kira was the first to react and dived forwards grabbing the blankets as she went. She wrapped the blankets protectively around him as they seemed to give him some sense of security, most likely because he felt they covered him. After all, to himself he somehow appeared suit less. Carefully she pressed her hands against the suit to feel if she could feel any blood seeping through. If it was bad enough for her to notice it seeping through the thick black material then they would have to sedate him and somehow attempt to cut the clothes off him, no matter how impossible that was they would have to try, other wise he would end up bleeding to death trapped in his ranger suit and owing a friend twenty bucks. Kira couldn't help but laugh silently to herself how her mind remembered the most random of things at the most inappropriate of moments. She had just had a flashback to a battle a few weeks previously when she had jokingly comment that she would have to keep him alive at least until he reached his twenty-fifth birthday and he had replied by saying, "Yeah, 'cause there is no way I'm going to the afterlife owing … twenty bucks." At the time she hadn't caught the name but right now she really wished she had.

"Shh, it's okay Dr O. You just sit here and relax, okay? It's just sore because of those wounds you were telling u about earlier so you have to try and stay still and stop attacking people, okay? Good, I can tell you don't want me too near you right now so I'm going to go back over there and stand with the other whilst you calm down." Kira knew that had her teacher been in the right frame of mind she would, at one time, have gotten a rollicking for being so patronising to her elders and what scared her more than anything was the fact that she might never get that Tommy back.

Slowly Kira stood from her rather uncomfortable kneeling position on the floor and backed up towards then other, her eyes never leaving Tommy's rocking frame. It was tearing her up inside to see the once strong, independent leader who was known as the Ultimate Ranger be such a quivering wreck of confusion and angst. She felt herself bump gently into something and an arm wrap itself protectively around her shoulders. She hadn't realised how far back she had paced and had accidentally walked straight into Conner.

"Let's all go sit down for a bit and leave him o cool off for a little while," Conner suggested leading Kira back over to the sofas and sitting her down gently on them as she seemed to have forgotten how to move at all after that traumatic experience.

They were soon joined by Trent and Ethan who sat themselves on the opposite end of the couch to them. Neither boy spoke not for fear of what to say but more for a total loss of words. No-one knew how to react or think after such a terrible event. Not long after that an exhausted looking Hayley and a troubled Billy crashed out on the other sofa, Hayley curling up close to him for comfort he offered. They seemed to all sit there like that in silence for what felt like an eternity before they finally heard Tommy's breathing become steady and his mumblings fade out into just the occasional words whispered in his sleep. He had sat there, alone in the corner, not allowing anyone at all near him, rocking himself quietly to sleep as he silently cried out tears caused by a mixture of emotions. Pain, anger, confusion, angst, worry; they all contributed to his pitiful state of mind and body.

"Why am I the only one he'll let near him?" Kira's voice was soft and slightly raspy from being out of use for such a long period of time. It was almost as if she had forgotten how to speak and the others forgotten how to hear.

"He lets Hayley close to him as well," Ethan pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Yeah but Hayley is his best friend. Well, the only best friend he can still remember, so of course he would let her near but, to him, Kira is just a student yet he still lets her close and not us. We are just as close to him as she is, in a student-teacher kind of way but he wont let us even anywhere near him," Trent countered, quickly getting his say on the matter added into the conversation.

"I think I know," Billy said quietly in such a tone that it caused Hayley to lift her head from his chest and look up at him inquisitively, her head tilted slightly to one side, "I've been listening to his sleep induced mumblings for a while now and he keeps referring to the colour yellow. If I'm not mistaken I think his subconscious is recalling vaguely on the memories he is suppressing and he is relating the colour yellow to not only you Kira but to someone else who helped him a lot as a teenager."

"Who?" Conner asked, blundering straight in without any tact. Sometimes they had to wonder whether he even gauged his brain before he let his mouth move. Maybe it was just on auto-pilot and naturally took over in delicate situations.

"The first Yellow Ranger?" Kira answered Conner with a question directed towards Billy. It was the fist thing that had sprung to mind and she was sure that she was right, just not one hundred percent sure.

"Yes, that's right Kira. Trini Kwan, the original Yellow Ranger. Trini was very pure of heart and always put other people's feelings and welfare before her own. She was a very compassionate person, such as the compassion you have shown Tommy tonight yourself Kira. Often when we were hurt or upset we would turn to Trini for a shoulder to cry on and some good advice. Many times after battle she was the one who bandaged us up and sorted us out. I believe Tommy is relating her to you through the colour yellow and he knows he can trust you to help him and look after him."

Kira simply nodded understanding the responsibilities of such a reference. She was going to have to do he best to help Tommy through this because he was counting on her. She had to do it for the memory of Trini and for Tommy.

"Then why isn't he letting Conner or I close. After all shouldn't Conner remind him of the original Red Ranger and me of you, Billy? Or what about Trent, as the White Ranger shouldn't Trent remind Tommy of himself?" Now it was Ethan's turn to ask more questions.

"That, I cannot answer, Ethan. Not because I do not want to but because I can't. It is impossible to tell what is going on in Tommy's mind right now and any connection his subconscious is making aloud currently will be most likely forgotten by morning. It will, of course, remain in his sub-conscience meaning he will trust Kira still, but he will not know or understand why. We just have to be grateful his unconscious is making any connections with the suppressed memories at all."

Billy pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration at not being able to just sort this entire mess out with a piece of complex science. He had travelled to other planets and saved his own from destruction but he couldn't save his friend from self destruction. It was infuriating.

Noticing the drooping eyes of the teens and Billy's utter exhaustion Hayley decided it was time to send this lot packing off upstairs to bed, "Come on kids, it's early morning and you need your rest. Trent and Ethan can take one of the spare rooms, Kira take Tommy's bed and Conner you know how to unfold the sofa into a bed, don't you?" Since she got a nod of agreement at this she continued arranging everyone, "You'll find spare sheets in the airing cupboard at the top of the landing. As for Billy and I, we'll stay down here and sleep on the couches to keep and eye on Tom."

The sleepy group stood and nodded in approval of Hayley's suggestion before all sluggishly dragging themselves out of the room.

It had been a long night and it was only the start of what would be a very long week.

* * *

To be continued...


End file.
